https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Trebitsch-Lincoln
What a story this guy has. Being a spy for multiple parties, finishing up as the claimant of being the Dalai Lamas reincarnation then dying under suspicious circumstances after writing Hitler to stop the holocaust.
The wiki page speaks for itself.
Still, the idea of Dalai lama is ingenious. Panchen Lama searches for Dalai Lama, Dalai Lama searches for Panchem lama.
Panchem Lama can only ever appoint a Boy as the Dalai Lama, once the previous one died. The next Panchem Lama can only ever be appointed once the current one dies. There is not much room for rampant nepotism and generationally growing corruption or power shift.
Also, I find it a totally valid theory for consciousness to be continual. Although not in an “exactly this guy comes next” way.
That system didn’t prevent most Dalai Lamas from being horrible rulers.
What did they do?
History of Tibet:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Tibet